When Al and Ron Talk, EF Hutton Listens

Ron and Al Lindner’s new reprint of their 1974 book Catching Fishing written with Bill Binkelman of Fishing Facts magazine.

I don’t know about you but I have been a fan of the Lindners ever since I read my first In-Fisherman magazine sometime in the mid-70s. Their approach to fishing along with that of Bill Binkelman, Buck Perry, Jason Lucas and Homer Circle changed the face of fishing and put all of us on the path to a better understanding of fish, their environments and how to catch them.

In 1974 the Lindner brothers along with Bill Binkelman of Fishing Facts magazine put together a booklet entitled Catching Fish. Actually is was a book containing over 380 pages and a thousand photos, with a number of their works and findings from 1964 to 1974 that were coalesced into a tabular format. As you flipped the page over, the next page was read from the top down. It contained pictures from the era, hand-drawn diagrams and directions on how to master certain techniques and tactics. In all it was an encyclopedia of advanced angling that I must say was the best of its time – without a doubt.

The old version of the booklet, Catching Fish, published in 1974. Notice the staples at the top and the flip-top style the booklet was publish as.

The book was originally put together and published for Lindy Lure Company to be given to anyone who wanted one – totally free of charge. Recently Ron and Al Lindner decided to reprint the work in a limited number (950 pieces) as Part One of a trilogy titled ‘A 100 Years in Sports Fishing’. I saw the post on Facebook and through In-Fisherman.com and also got an email from In-Fisherman fishing historian Ned Kedhe about its reprint. I had to have the book.

I sent an email to Ron asking to purchase one but there was a caveat – I wanted it signed by both he and Al. I got an email back a little while later stating that not only would he send me the copy signed by the two of them, that he was also sending me one of the few originals remaining. Talk about being excited.

Two days later the mail man delivered the goods and now I’m in the process of reading both editions. What I’ve read so far is utterly amazing. What I find the most interesting is as the years unfolded you can see the scientific side of bass and walleye fishing morphing into something tangible. Also really cool about the new edition is Ron and Al have added a lot of the history of how and why they came up with certain things along with their recollections of how it happened.
Right now I’m reading 3 books on the subject and these two copies are going to make it five. In fact, I may give the other three a rest and just concentrate on these two so I can write a review for you all to see.

In the meantime, based on what I’ve seen so far, if you’re a bass fishing book junky, this isn’t a book you can pass up. This is a must have. Yeah, I may be a little biased and this may seem like a plug but the hard fact is if you don’t buy this thing soon, there won’t be any more left. If you’re interested in buying the limited-edition book, you can find it here at Lindner’s Angling Edge.

Bill gave me a “catching fish book” and he said this is the original book, hang on to it. Besides a great person with a never ending wealth of fishing information…He was a good friend and a vary honest man. We all miss you Bill.